Author's Note

Finally getting this back on and with a new set of ideas. I think I got the best formula down despite never having a single idea stick for too long. Hell I came up with a last minute change to the story last night, a detail for later in the story. Anyways here's the newest start to a story I've been trying to get around to finishing for five years (Christ time flies). And hopefully I'll be able to get a better set schedule to do this.

Also a big shout out to my friend LAGGxFitzy. Happy Birthday buddy.

PROLOGUE

When the Chaos wars ended the world began to change. When the nightmare rebellion was ended so was the curse of the sun and moon. From there technology and the world evolved. But while the world became closer, it became more dangerous. New nations rivaled each other, all wanting to take a swipe at now Queen Celestia. Companies grew to monolithic heights, their hierarchy, now seeing themselves as Gods. And the ones below, slowly, began to suffer.

Then came the war, and the wedding, the invasion, the battles, then APEX and Calvary came to the rescue. Sombra went first, and Crystal Empire was all but annexed by Equestria. Then Chrysalis, who was over thrown in a violent coup. Then the nation that started it all. Unicornia.

The war, at least to the media, ended when their capital, along with their government was vaporized.

But the war never truly ended. Soldiers were still fighting abroad, as the economy slowly slipped. Poverty gradually increased. Joblessness, homelessness, you name it. There were those who spoke up. And they soon were taken away. And soon the voices began to grow quiet.

Except for a few. A few who were being hunted....

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3:18 A.M.

If you were to travel about 20 miles outside the city of Chicacolt, chances are you would come across one of many fenced off abandoned properties that are scattered around the hills and countryside. With many gates rusting and dilapidated, with their "NO TRESPASSING!" signs slowly falling off their screws, the sight of venturing onto the abandoned properties wouldn't appeal to the passing traveler. Occasionally one or more would disobey the rusty signs, either a homeless pony looking for shelter on their travels or an explorer filming a MeTube video would explore the unused buildings.

There was one place that, unknown to many, had been occupied for quite some time. It was further off the main road, up a dirt road, that had become overgrown after years of being unused. The gate on this particular site had all but rotted from years of neglect, the former occupants had abandoned the site years ago when the government had shut it down. If one were to make it all the way up to the main property they would find nothing but a bunch of old concrete bunkers, that had belonged to the military. It was part of a defense network in case the Crystal Empire had returned or if Yakyakistan ordered a strike against Equestria. It was after the signing of a defense pact between Equestria and Yakyakistan that the base, like many others across northern Equestria, had been declared obsolete. That was 45 years ago. For the most part the place sat silent, much of the equipment left behind gathering dust. It was left in a perpetual state of suspended animation, almost like a giant time capsule. Then about 2 months ago....they came.

They were soldiers, but not from the Equestrian Army or the EIA. These soldiers were more of a freelance variety. The reach of their group stretched from Chicacolt to Manehattan to Vanhoover and beyond. Their weapons of choice wasn't limited either. While they had a stockpile of guns and explosives, their main weapon of choice was an item that many across the world used. Smartphones, laptops, tablets and more. If it could get them past a security system it worked for them.

At this particular hour, deep inside the old bunker, the old reconverted command room was quietly buzzing with the sounds of the night shift workers going about their business. The room was about 20x20 with 12 foot ceilings. There were a total of 12 desks, each with 2 screens and a PC tower. They were set on a shallow staircase that stretched across the width of the room. At the front of the room was three large computer screens. Originally used by the military personnel until the place was abandoned, the screens fell into decay. When 'they' showed up, they removed the old ones and put in updated ones, which they had gotten through some less-than-legal means. Usually they would be on, showing maps, website, news channels, etc. But for now they stayed off, for in the back of the room, eight other members of the "company" slept on makeshift beds of mattresses, pillows, and blankets that were set on the floor. All of it was stolen months ago in an unsolved burglary of a department store. Each member slept with a bag next to their head. The bags contained supplies for if they got 'evicted'. While it had been a while since something like that happened, they still needed the precautions. At least till they moved away from Chicacolt to a place less hot.

Down towards the front of the control room two of the groups, leaders sat in silence as they continued their shift. Fingers clacked quickly on the keyboards, as the two busied themselves. They were multitasking, messaging other cells on pop up chat rooms, on one screen, ones that couldn't be found by any typical web search, while typing endless strands of code on the other.

The head of the group silently moved her own hands over her keyboard. She smiled as she typed in the next strand of code onto the first screen before moving onto the second, where a video editor was open, along with several webpages. Multitasking was something she was accustomed to and quite enjoyed, especially when it came to her craft. In the corner of one of the screens a small globe blinked constantly as it was being fed updates constantly from the computer. She continued her work effortlessly as she finished typing her last strand of code onto the first screen before pressing 'ENTER'. She then closed the page, revealing a webpage for a company, named 'Omega Pharmaceutical'. She then hit "F5" and the fruits of her labor were shown. The website had crashed. The leader chuckled a bit as she pointed to her partner, who equally found it humorous.

She then returned to her work with a big grin on her face. She was in her natural habitat, enjoying the wonders of cyberspace. Then:

BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!

A bright red light began flashing as an alarm began sounding. The sleeping teammates quickly woke from their slumber.

"OUT NOW!!!" The leader barked. The once sleeping members shot out of their beds and each grabbed their bag.

The leader hit a button her desk and soon all the computer towers popped open, their electronic guts now exposed to the outside. At the same time a large, hidden door, disguised as the concrete wall, opened on the front right corner of the room. As the others made their exit she and her second-in-command began quickly removing the hard drives from each computer tower, putting each one into a small duffel bag. Within 30 seconds each tower had their hard drive removed, each screen now black from the sudden system failure.

With their job done the two quickly turned towards the same passage their colleagues had fled down. On their way out the leader pulled a panel off the wall, exposing a large, flashing red button. Without so much as a blink, she slammed her fist into it before making her way down the corridor, closing the door behind her. In less than a minute the room had gone silent, save for the sound of the alarm still going.

For what seemed like an eternity the room sat in the same state, the alarm ringing while the red light flashed. Then:

CLANG

BOOM!!!

A bright flash lit up the room as a stun grenade detonated. It was immediately followed by the sounds of boots running on concrete and someone barking orders. Six black figures entered the room, the red-tinted glow from their infrared goggles made them seem like demon's straight from hell. The six made their way down the shallow staircase. They each looked around for any signs of the occupants. But alas, they were already long gone.

"Look's like they've already left sir." One of the soldiers said.
"Which means we need to leave too." The lead Guard replied factually. "Out of the bunker now!" He barked. His team then bolted back towards the exit with him following behind. As they filed out, the captain noticed one of the Guards had reached for something on the front desk. He followed closely behind him as they all ran back up the corridors to the rusted door the busted open only a minute ago. The group bolted right through and out into the night, not stopping till they reached the woods, ducking just behind the tree line.

Then it happened. There was a large "THUMP" with a jet of flames and exploding concrete following closely behind. When the dust settled the entire property was lit up with spotlights, revealing the police and Royal Guard brigade surrounding the now destroyed base. The six emerged from the woods. Their adrenaline was still pumping but they held their composure as they knew it was over. As they moved up to inspect the remains of the bunker, the stalling guard pulled the Captain aside. The two then walked over behind a nearby crumbling wall where they removed their helmets, revealing the faces of a white Unicorn and a yellow Pegasus, both with blue manes.

"Well that could've gone worse Captain." Flash said.
"I suppose Sergeant." Shining Armor replied. "Did you get it?"
Flash then reached into his pants pocket and pulled out what he grabbed. It was a hard drive. He immediately handed it to Shining who quickly pocketed it.
"Good work." He said. Flash saluted his commander, a smile quickly adorning his face before he fell back in line.
"Now Sergeant." He continued. "Now that this mission is complete, I think I might have another assignment for you. If, of course you're up to it."

Flash then smiled and said. "Just tell me what I need to do boss."

Shining smiled.

Vinyl Scratch
Twilight Sparkle
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Record Scratch
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Flash Sentry